Sofa Murphy Bed Guide: Types, Sizes & Tips

17 min read | Updated October 9, 2026

A sofa Murphy bed, also sold as a Murphy bed with couch, is a wall bed and a sofa sharing one wall. The bed folds up into a tall cabinet on pistons or springs. At night you take the sofa cushions off and pull the bed down over the seat.

Mattress Miracle, a family-owned store in Brantford since 1997, does not sell wall-mounted Murphy beds or sofa Murphy beds. We sell the mattress that goes on one, from our foam mattress collection, which includes 8- and 10-inch models. For the same small-room job we also sell two freestanding queen cabinet beds, plus sofa beds and futon frames from $275.

A cabinet bed is the freestanding cousin of a Murphy bed. Its mattress folds in thirds into a cabinet that sits on the floor, so nothing is bolted to a wall. The queen cabinet beds Mattress Miracle sells measure 64.5 inches wide and 24.25 inches deep when closed, and open to 82 inches long.

Is There a Murphy Bed That Is Also a Couch?

Yes. A Murphy bed with a sofa is a wall bed and a couch designed as one unit. The sofa stands in front of the bed cabinet or attaches to it, and the bed lowers over the seat once the cushions come off.

Bestar's Nebula Queen Murphy Bed with Sofa is a typical Canadian example, sold in queen and full. Its listing says the open queen reaches 91.8 inches from the wall and needs a ceiling of at least 91.1 inches. The bed carries a 10-year warranty; the sofa carries one year.

The difference from a sofa bed is the mattress. A sofa Murphy bed holds a regular mattress on slats. A sofa bed sleeps you on its seat foam or a folding mattress, and our guide to sofa beds and foldable couches covers that side in detail.

What Is a Murphy Bed?

A Murphy bed, also called a wall bed, is a bed that folds up into a wall-mounted cabinet when you are not using it. The name comes from William Lawrence Murphy (1876 to 1957), whose "Disappearing Bed" patent dates to June 18, 1912, according to Wikipedia's Murphy bed entry. Modern versions lift on gas pistons or springs, and many add shelving, a desk or a sofa.

Murphy Bed With Sofa: Types and Styles

Murphy beds come in four common builds, and only one includes a couch.

Standard Cabinet Murphy Bed

The classic design. The mattress sits on a platform inside a tall cabinet mounted to the wall, which looks like an armoire when closed. Pull a handle and the platform folds down. It suits a guest room that is an office most days, and our guest room and cottage mattress picks cover what to sleep on in one.

Sofa Murphy Bed Combo

A sofa Murphy bed pairs the wall cabinet with a sofa in front of it. Vertical queens are the usual build, and some horizontal models fold over a sofa too.

Desk Murphy Bed

A desk Murphy bed folds down above or behind a work surface. Some makers keep the desk level as the bed lowers, so papers can stay put; check the listing before you count on it. If the desk and bed share a studio, our studio apartment sleep setup guide covers the rest of the room.

Freestanding Cabinet Bed

A cabinet bed does not attach to the wall, which makes it the renter's option. The trade-off is a thinner, folding mattress. It is the only type Mattress Miracle sells, and our Murphy bed vs cabinet bed comparison sets the two side by side.

Murphy Bed With Sofa vs Sofa Bed: Which Is Better to Sleep On?

A Murphy bed with a sofa is better for regular sleeping because it holds a full mattress. A sofa bed from a range like our sofa bed collection costs less, needs no installer, and is fine when guests stay a night or two. Prices below are from sellers' own listings on October 9, 2026.

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Count the nights before you count the dollars. A few guest nights a year rarely justify a wall bed and its installer; a room that is a bedroom every weekend usually does. Our sofa bed vs real mattress comparison explains why the folding mattress is the weak point.

Vertical vs. Horizontal Wall Beds

A vertical Murphy bed folds down from its head end, so the foot comes out into the room. A horizontal Murphy bed folds down from its long side. The right one depends on your ceiling height and wall width.

Vertical Murphy Beds

Vertical wall beds are the more common type, and most sofa Murphy beds are built this way. You get in from either side. The catch is height: the Bestar Nebula queen with sofa needs at least 91.1 inches of ceiling on its anchoring wall, a little over 7.5 feet.

Horizontal Murphy Beds

Horizontal wall beds need more wall width but a shorter cabinet, so they suit low ceilings, sloped walls or a wall under a window. Twin and full are the common sizes. You usually get in from one side only. Under a steep attic slope even a horizontal cabinet can be too tall, and our guide to floor beds covers the lowest option.

Quick Comparison

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Murphy Bed Sizes: Twin to King

Murphy beds come in the standard Canadian mattress sizes, and the size sets the wall you need. Confirm the frame's own spec before you buy a mattress.

Twin Murphy Bed (38" or 39" x 75")

A twin suits a child's room or a narrow spare room and takes the least wall, especially horizontally. Our twin mattress size guide for Canada covers single and twin sizing.

Full / Double Murphy Bed (54" x 75")

A full fits one adult comfortably and two in a pinch. Bestar's full Nebula takes a mattress 8 to 10 inches thick.

Queen Murphy Bed (60" x 80")

The queen is the size most sofa versions are built around, and it takes standard queen bed sheets; our bedsheet size guide lists the sizes for other beds. Closed, a vertical queen cabinet is about 16 to 20 inches deep, according to Monarch Murphy Beds.

King Murphy Bed (76" x 80")

King wall beds are less common and need a wide wall and a deep room. Our king mattress dimensions guide explains the standard and California king sizes.

Choosing the Right Mattress for a Murphy Bed

The right mattress for a Murphy bed fits the frame's thickness and weight limits, has no box spring, and holds its shape standing on end. Get those right and the bed sleeps like any other.

Mattress Thickness

Bestar's listing for its Nebula bed with sofa calls for a mattress 8 to 12 inches thick in queen and 8 to 10 inches in full. Too thick and the cabinet won't close; too thin and you may feel the slats. Other makers set other limits.

Mattress Weight

The pistons or springs are calibrated for a weight range. Bestar lists 60 to 90 lb for a queen mattress, with no box spring. A mattress outside the range can drift up or strain the lift. Our product pages don't list mattress weights, so ask an advisor at 519-770-0001 before you order.

Best Mattress Types for Murphy Beds

Memory foam and latex mattresses are our first suggestion, because they flex with the frame and keep their shape upright. Hybrid mattresses and innersprings can work, and Bestar lists innerspring as compatible, but coils add weight. Stay inside your maker's numbers.

Here is how four of the foam mattresses Mattress Miracle sells line up against Bestar's 8- to 12-inch range, at live queen prices on October 9, 2026.

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Odd-Sized Murphy Frames and Custom Cuts

Some older or custom-built wall beds take a mattress that isn't a standard size. Mattress Miracle can make one to your measurements in two to three weeks, priced per order once we have checked every number with you by phone. Our custom size mattress page lists the brands we cut. A custom mattress at $500 or more keeps its full manufacturer warranty, and a 5-inch foam cut has no warranty. No custom cut can be exchanged under the 60-Night Comfort Guarantee.

What Are the Downsides of a Murphy Bed?

The main downsides of a Murphy bed are cost, installation and safety. A sofa Murphy bed costs more than a sofa bed or a futon frame and mattress, must be bolted to studs, and needs a tall, clear wall. A badly installed one can fall.

Advantages

• Floor space comes back every morning. A queen mattress covers about 33 square feet, and a closed vertical cabinet is roughly 16 to 20 inches deep.
• You sleep on a regular mattress, so it feels like a real bed.
• One room can be a living room, a guest room and, with a desk model, an office.
• Closed, it looks like a cabinet or bookcase rather than a bed.

Drawbacks

• Price. Listed sofa Murphy beds ran $2,363 to $8,533 on October 9, 2026, before the mattress.
• Installation. Bestar's listing calls for anchoring to studs or masonry, removing the baseboard and drilling into the floor, with 8 to 12 hours of assembly.
• Rentals. Anchoring may break a lease. Renters often land on a cabinet bed instead; our cabinet bed guide explains how they open.
• Mattress limits. Thickness and weight caps rule out heavy pillow-top beds.
• Daily routine. The bed goes up and down every day, with the bedding tucked or strapped in first.
• Safety. In 2022 Health Canada recalled every Bestar wall bed model sold from 2014 to March 2022 over beds coming away from the wall.

If a thinner Murphy mattress feels firm, a topper can soften it, as long as the total still fits the cabinet. Our foam bed topper guide walks through the options.

Are Murphy Beds Safe? Recalls and Wall Anchoring in Canada

A Murphy bed is safe when it is anchored into studs or masonry exactly as its maker specifies and has a working lock. Installed badly, it can come off the wall or open on its own. Health Canada recall notices show both have happened in Canada.

The April 2022 Bestar recall covered about 53,000 wall beds sold in Canada from June 2014 to March 2022. Bestar had 15 Canadian reports of units dislodging and 8 injuries, plus 61 reports, 60 injuries and one death in the United States. The notice says skipping a professional installer can lead to improper attachment and a sudden collapse.

In November 2024, Health Canada announced a Dorel wall bed recall covering 2,614 beds sold in Canada that could detach from the wall and fall. In September 2024, a Quebec coroner reported on a 5-year-old boy killed when a queen Murphy bed above a hotel-room couch sprang open as he pulled its handles.

CBC reported that the bed had no locking device and did not meet ISO 10131, a safety standard that is not mandatory in Canada. Health Canada told CBC that Canada has no specific regulations for foldaway beds and that suppliers are responsible for product safety. Our report on the 2026 FUFU&GAGA Murphy wall bed recall covers a newer case.

Freestanding cabinets need care too. Health Canada's tip-over advice is to anchor furniture with angle braces or safety straps, fixed to a wall stud or to heavy-duty drywall anchors made for that furniture.

Installation and Room Planning

Planning a sofa Murphy bed means measuring the wall, ceiling and floor before you order, using the maker's numbers for your exact model. Bestar's queen with sofa is the worked example.

Wall Space

The Bestar queen with sofa is 78 inches wide, so you need that much flat wall plus room for any side cabinets. Keep windows, vents, panels and outlets out of the cabinet's footprint.

Floor Clearance

Open, the Bestar queen reaches 91.8 inches from the wall. Keep that zone clear of fixed furniture and swinging doors, with a path around one side.

Ceiling Height

Bestar's installation notes ask for at least 91.1 inches of ceiling, so a standard 8-foot ceiling clears it. Lower than that, look at a horizontal model or a cabinet bed.

Wall Construction

Murphy beds anchor into wood studs or masonry, never drywall alone. Basement concrete needs masonry anchors, and plaster walls in older houses can hide irregular studs, so find them first.

Assembly

Bestar puts assembly at 8 to 12 hours with two people. For scale, Health Canada's Bestar recall notice said Bestar expected professional reinstallation to cost CAD $216 to $263 for one style of wall bed and $430 to $527 for another.

What Does a Murphy Bed With Sofa Cost in Canada?

A Murphy bed with a sofa costs $2,363 to $8,533 in Canada before the mattress and installation, going by sellers' own listings on October 9, 2026. A freestanding cabinet bed with its mattress included costs $2,000 to $2,259.99 at Mattress Miracle.

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Sale prices move, so treat these as a snapshot. To compare every queen mattress we carry at today's prices, start with our queen mattress collection.

Where to Buy a Murphy Bed With Sofa in Canada

Murphy beds with sofas in Canada come mostly from wall-bed makers and furniture retailers. On October 9, 2026, Google results for these searches were led by Bestar, Resource Furniture, La Place and other wall-bed sellers.

• IKEA: a search of ikea.ca for "murphy bed" on October 9, 2026 returned 37 products, all sofa-beds, futons or sofa-bed covers. No wall bed was listed.
• Costco: costco.ca has a Murphy Beds and Wall Beds category. Stock changes, so check each model's mattress limits and installation instructions.
• Resource Furniture Canada sells wall beds with sofas and books appointments in Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto.
• La Place sells Murphy beds with sofas through stores across Quebec, including Laval and Brossard in Greater Montreal.

What Mattress Miracle Sells for the Same Job

Mattress Miracle doesn't sell wall-mounted Murphy beds. We sell two freestanding queen cabinet beds: the Dream Dresser Queen Cabinet Bed at $2,000 and the Murphy Bed Cabinet at $2,259.99. Both list a 6-inch tri-fold Cool Gel Foam mattress in a cabinet 64.5 inches wide, 43 inches high and 24.25 inches deep.

For seating that sleeps, our futon beds and frames start at $243 for a double futon mattress. If you already own a wall bed, we sell the mattress for it, and every eligible mattress carries our 60-Night Comfort Guarantee: one exchange, no exchange fee.

Frequently Asked Questions